Enbridge Pipeline Leak Fouls Kalamazoo River

Slow-moving water looks good, but has oil-sheen

The Enbridge pipeline leak that put about a million gallons of oil into Talmadge Creek, and subsequently, the Kalamazoo River, continues to threaten wildlife, habitat, and people in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties in SW Michigan

Calhoun county officials have called for the evacuation of homes along the affected stretch of the Kalamazoo River. Citing the potentially health-threatening effects of breathing benzene fumes produced by the oil as it travels downstream, and any physical contact with the crude along the banks, health officials are visiting affected homeowners to encourage them to leave the areas near the river.

Some reports are coming in that oil has passed over the Morrow Dam, the site picked by emergency response agencies as the best place for a line of defense to keep the oil from moving downstream. Comstock High School has been designated as an emergency shelter for those who must leave their homes due to fumes or threats of oil inundation of their property.

Pipeline owner Enbridge, has established a hotline at: 800-306-6837, or in Calhoun county, call Hands On BC, at 1-800-250-5628 to volunteer / donate items. In Kalamazoo county, call 211 for volunteer service line, And see their information at www.handsonbc.org.

One Response to “Enbridge Pipeline Leak Fouls Kalamazoo River”

On Monday night (July 26) an oil pipeline – owned by Enbridge Energy Inc. – burst and spilled over 1,000,000+ gallons of crude into the Kalamazoo River near Battle Creek, Michigan. Michiganders are scrambling to stop the flow from getting into Lake Michigan, but I fear their efforts are in vain.

According to the latest local news reports, it seems that Enbridge was slow to react to the emergency, while under reporting the actual amount of oil that was leaked into the river. Since Monday, the situation has grown even worse. Birds and other animal wildlife, coated with oil, have been found. People living along the river have been warned to evacuate the area along the river way and not to drink their well water for fear of contamination.

1,000,000+ gallons of oil may not sound like much to some, considering the amount of oil now floating just underwater in the Gulf of Mexico, but in such a confined area – like the Kalamazoo River – that amount is devastating. As the oil continues to flow west, it will soon reach Lake Michigan, affecting the drinking water of millions of people, killing all wildlife, and despoiling the true beauty of the great lake.

I’m really starting to believe that corporations don’t give a damn about anything other than their profits. As I stated in one of my previous blog posts (Who Put Corporations in Charge?), “…what good is money, after all, if you don’t have air to breathe, water to drink, or food to eat without fear of contamination?”